FIFA 07 Review

The rivalry between EA's FIFA franchise and Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series is perhaps as fierce as it's ever been; there's continues to be a veritable split between gamers who prefer one or the other, and it doesn't look likely to end anytime soon. As the rivalry makes the transition into the next-generation, both publishers are looking to gain some measure of supremacy over the other...so having already made an appearance on current-gen formats at the end of September, how does FIFA 07 fair???

The release of FIFA 07 isn't of course the first time that we've seen the brand appear on Xbox 360 since the console launched at the end of 2005, with two previous editions taking in the Road to World Cup and the 2006 World Cup itself, but it is the first time that the main franchise has made it onto Microsoft's next-gen console. Promising a greater degree of realism thanks to the power of the Xbox 360, EA hopes that this latest instalment will help it to bridge the gap between it and archrival Pro Evolution Soccer, and the results certainly show that determination - though not in every department.

First off is the lack of leagues available to play in; just six (plus the lone Serie B team of football cheaters, Juventus) are featured in the game, compared to the 27 or so leagues included in the current-gen FIFA 07. Forget about the likes of the K-League, J-League, MLS, and the second tier leagues of England, France, and Germany - you won't be playing next-gen Bristol City just yet. EA blames this distinct lack of leagues available in FIFA 07 on the amount of time it took to develop the new next-gen FIFA engine, and hopefully this'll mean that we can expect as near a full roster of leagues in next year's edition. Obviously this constriction of team and league options is a disappointment, lets face it, the Xbox 360 version is a bit pricier compared to FIFA 07 on Xbox or PlayStation2, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt. That said, with their current strategy of releasing premium content for the likes of The Godfather via Xbox Marketplace, we wouldn't be too surprised if the publisher ended up bulking out the number of teams thanks to downloadable content in the coming weeks and months...

So having dropped twenty-one leagues because of it, how does the new FIFA match engine hold up? Honestly, pretty damn good. Like the current-gen versions released earlier in the Autumn, new ball physics has meant that there's a reinvigoration of the FIFA experience. No longer do you find yourself experiencing the same game over and over again, exploiting the same old 'FIFA-isms' such as the cross and shot techniques that had become something of a negative characteristic of 'old' FIFA games. The fluidity of the physics driven animation surpasses any FIFA that's gone before it, bringing the Xbox 360 version firmly into the next-generation, and finally freeing the franchise of the 'travelling on rails' experience that's dogged it ever since...well, the beginning. It's a joy to see the free-flowing passing and movement of the ball between players across the pitch, bringing a level of realism to the series that's been missing in the past. But it's not only the ball movement that's helped push the game into the next-gen. Quick reflexes reacting to the ball and an opponent, jumping over a tackling player, fluid ball control, player momentum, and an overall greater sense of the forces at work in football, together with the new ball physics to create a highly developed recreation of the game of football, something that FIFA has been working on for several years now. Scuffles between players as they race for the ball are far more animated than before, and like the current-gen version, vying for control of a header isn't tied down to a repetitive sequence. There's the distinct lack of end-to-end pinball passing too, instead a greater emphasis on midfield build-up play is evident, something that would never have been required nor encouraged in previous instalments.

There's a greater sense of individualism amongst players now, where the dribbling and blistering pace of Cristiano Ronaldo is recreated to near perfection, and the awkward-looking nature of Peter Crouch's play is captured in all its inelegance. Back to the Manchester United winger, there's never been a greater sense that EA has replicated the skills of player to such accuracy; bullet-like acceleration and quite changes of direction are all there - not to mention his skills in delivering pixel perfect crosses. EA has recreated such skills thanks to a detailed breakdown of forty-three attributes, including skills with the weak foot and heading ability, which aim to deliver as realistically as possible the parameters of a player's skill, something that's a broad success - but more can be done. Beyond physical attributes, both players and teams are affected by Team Momentum, which dynamically changes through the course of a match depending on the success of a team and the performance of individual players. For example, 'Total Momentum', which affects the team as a whole, can be amended by intelligent management decisions such as substituting an under-performing player. More individual momentum (Instant Momentum) can be raised or lowered depending on the quality of a player's skills both on and off the ball, and like Total Momentum, affects the overall effectiveness of a team. If that wasn't enough, Team Chemistry is a further attribute that dictates how well a team plays together, governing runs and link-up play.

But whilst the flow and fluidity of the players, and their recreated attributes scream next-gen, elsewhere in the graphical department FIFA 07 on Xbox 360 can be quite a surprising experience, and not in a good way. If there's one thing that FIFA has been good at in recent years, it's been the ability to recreate England and Manchester United midfielder, Paul Scholes. When other player models have left you wondering whether it's supposed to be Marcus Bent or Darren Bent, Scholsey's FIFA representation has been achieved with real accuracy, but not anymore. In fact, it's a real struggle to see any resemblance between the real-world Scholes and his FIFA 07 equivalent - the latter isn't even ginger! Quite honestly, if EA can't even get Scholes to look right, then there's little hope elsewhere. Player models in the game look like rubbery masked caricatures of their real-world counterparts, and it's hard to counter claims that the current-gen models are more realistic, because they probably are. Hopefully this too can be improved in the coming years...

Player AI is however one area that will have to be looked at ahead of next year's instalment, as it even feels like a little bit of a backward step compared to it's current-gen cousin. There are of course flashes of what should happen, AI-controlled players making intelligent runs forward, taking advantage of space, or distracting defending opponents, which to some extent, pull the plug on the sense of immersion; most noticeably the defensive lines can be far too static in their movement, and goalkeepers aren't always as quick to react to some of the more dangerous balls flying their way.

Traditionally, FIFA has always had the gimmick; for instance, three years ago saw the introduction of the 'Off-the-ball' functions (something that was dropped last year in FIFA 06), and this year sees the implementation of the 'Finesse Shot'. It's a technique that was also added to the current-generation versions of FIFA 07, but quite honestly it's such a gimmick that we had to mention it once more in the Xbox 360 review. Described by EA as a way to make more decisive, perhaps even 'show-boat', shots at goal, the Finesse Shot allows players to place the ball more accurately into the back of the net. The downsides of such shots however, are that the ball is invariably slower in moving through the air, and that the striker needs that extra bit of time to 'think' about the placement. When it works, it can look like the most dramatic piece of top-class goal-scoring in international football - it just isn't particularly deep, and instead comes across as quite cheap given the fact that all a gamer has to do to execute a Finesse Shot is to hold down the right-bumper button when the shot is being taken. Compare this to the reams of button combinations featured in Pro Evo to accomplish a similarly spectacular goal, and the superficial nature of Finesse is all the more obvious.

What it has in terms of visuals, at least when it comes to the actual game of football itself, FIFA 07 distinctly lacks in the audio department, in particular the commentary provided by Sky Sports duo Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. At a time when EA is pushing the series forward in so many different areas, the quite frankly retro-quality of standards in the sound is very disappointing, and at times even shambolic. Pre-release claims that the commentary has been created to learn through the course of a match, thereby increasing the accuracy of the lines, seem to be totally unfounded. There's no sense of realism to it, no point where you believe that Tyler and Gray are actually commentating on the match you're playing in. Instead, any sense of audio immersion is shot down through inaccurate observations (Tyler frequently comments on how good a pass or shot is, when in actual fact, they're pretty poor), delayed reactions (screams of a goal can come a few seconds after the event...not exactly realistic), and the general impression that EA has just recorded both pundits saying line after line without giving too much thought as to how they're going to tie them together and deliver a next-gen commentating experience. Ironically, Tyler often remarks on how commentators sometimes get it wrong... Unlike the players on the pitch, there's just no fluidity and flow to the commentating, it just feels like a set of lines played somewhat erratically after each other - let's hope that this is one area that the new FIFA team at EA are working on for FIFA 08.

Increasingly in recent years, EA has shifted the main focus of extended gameplay in the FIFA franchise towards a Manager Mode, and FIFA 07 on Xbox 360 is no exception. Besides quick, one-off matches, the Manager Mode offers the greatest amount of prolonged and consistent gameplay in the title; pick your team and new club sponsor, and you're pretty much on your way to becoming the next Alex Ferguson. Elsewhere, FIFA 07 of course features online gameplay as it has done in the last couple of seasons, and also the Lounge Mode from FIFA 06 that allows a group of friends to compete against one another whilst the game keeps tabs and predictions on results. A Challenge Mode is also included in the game, and sees players travel the globe and achieve various objectives along the way, such as scoring a winning goal with a late substitute, or attaining a 60% or higher passing rate. It's all fairly frivolous stuff, but at least the Challenges do throw in something a bit different compared to the main gameplay on offer.

Further bonus features such as updated real-world results, courtesy of ESPN, are all very good, but it all adds up to padding and very little else. That said, it is quite a bit of padding, with gamers able to check out the latest news on each of the clubs featured in FIFA 07, and weekly podcasts will also bridge the gap between EA's representation of the beautiful game and the actual version of the beautiful game. At the end of the day (to use something of an hackneyed footballing cliché), a real football fan is unlikely to rely on FIFA 07 to get the latest goings on at their supported club, making much of this feature fairly inconsequential.